How Nigeria’s Deputy Speaker Plans To Institutionalise Igbo Apprenticeship System
Nigeria’s Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, is planning to tackle the prevailing unemployment rate among youths by introducing a bill that will institutionalise the Igbo Apprenticeship system.
The Igbo Apprenticeship system, known as Igba Boi in the local dialect of the Igbo people in Southeast Nigeria, is a system described by Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe as “a communal enterprising framework where successful businesses develop others and, over time, provide capital and give away their customers to the new businesses.”
Kalu revealed his plan of integrating the century-long Igbo tradition into the Nigerian economic system when he hosted the management team of Buildup Integrated Services in Abuja.
“An institutionalised dual apprenticeship system will act as a conduit, offering a real-world application of the skills acquired through theoretical education,” Kalu, who represents Bende Federal Constituency, Abia State, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said.
He added, “It serves as the vital bridge that transforms academic knowledge into practical expertise, ensuring that individuals not only grasp theoretical concepts but also gain hands-on experience relevant to the demands of their chosen fields.”
In a special report in 2022, Neusroom disclosed how the practice became prevalent after the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970 and has since become a system upon which youths are trained in commerce or handicraft. Although the apprenticeship lasts for a duration of seven years, Nwaogeikpe, who has trained and settled more than 10 apprentices in his over 30 years as a businessman in building materials, said the negotiation is oral, and the duration can vary.
It is usually an agreement between two families, where one, the established entrepreneur, agrees to mentor a young person as an apprentice. For the agreed duration, the apprentice will serve his master, referred to as ‘oga,’ while learning the skill or trade of his master. After the apprenticeship, the apprentice receives monetary compensation in the form of a grant or will be ‘settled’ with one year’s rent and goods.
The system has produced some of Nigeria’s most influential businessmen from the Igbo extraction. Innocent Chukwuma, the founder of Innoson Motors, the largest indigenous automobile manufacturing company by sales in Nigeria, is said to be a product of the Igbo Apprenticeship System. Chukwuma served as an apprentice to Chief Romanus Eze Onwuka, one of the biggest motorcycle spare parts dealerships in Nnewi, Anambra State. He learned the business and eventually, when he was settled by Onwuka, opened up his own spare parts business.
Other business moguls in Nigeria of Igbo origin that are products of the Igba Boi include Ifeanyi Ubah, the owner of one of the largest private fuel depots in Africa, Capital Oil & Gas. Cosmas Maduka, who controls Coscharis Group, a conglomerate with diverse interests in manufacturing, automobiles, and petrochemicals, also passed through the system.
